


Perspective

by Averooo



Category: DCU (Comics), Heroes in Crisis (DCU Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Alcohol Usage, Angst, Clones, Depending on your perspective, Emotional Abuse, Eventual happy ending for select characters, F/F, Fix-It, I'm not a fan of anyone who beats their kids and gets away with it., M/M, Murder, fuck batman, mentions of physical abuse, of sorts, psychological abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:06:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26754781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averooo/pseuds/Averooo
Summary: Fancy Summary: Perspective is everything, it is how we as people perceive the world and it influences to an extent how the world moves forward. However, it is impossible to know every perspective there is to offer. And that my friend, can lead to some very interesting situations.Not Fancy Summary: Let's be real, I'm shit at summaries. So basically this is a fix-it of sorts for DC's Heroes in Crisis comic run. However, the reason I say of sorts is because I actually liked the overall end result of that story line. I liked the fact that the people of earth were forced to view heroes as fallible and human, so I'm keeping literally everything that happened in that specific comic run here. BUUUT, I'm going to manipulate the hell out of the in between moments that weren't shown in the comics to give the heroes a chance at a happy ending. After all, perspective is everything.NOTE: Different chapters will be told from different perspectives and different POVS (except for first person POV because I think that it is absolutely disgusting. I despise it on a deeeeeeeeep level).Rated Mature because I fucking curse a lot and some of these chapters are going to get really fucking dark.
Relationships: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, Cyborg and Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, Poison Ivy/Harley Quin, Roy Harper and Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jason Todd
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Perspective

**Author's Note:**

> Okay guys, this is my first fanfcition and I am a grammar nazi so please tell me if I make any mistakes in that department. I will not be offended in the slightest if you point any errors out, in fact I encourage it. Also I know the first chapter is short, it's supposed to be for maximum mystery and spooky factor. The later chapters will be much longer I promise, I have too much to say to keep them short. Also, let it be known that I'm not a huge fan of the current Batman, so there WILL BE a LOT of Batman smashing in this. I'm not gonna go easy on him because frankly I don't like people who beat their kids and get away with it. So yeah, that's a thing I'm going to be doing.  
> ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
> NOTE: This chapter was beta read by Here_Be_Hyperfixations   
> I don't know how to link to their stuff so you'll just have to look them up for yourself. 10/10 would recommend doing that btw, they have some interesting stuff.

Things haven’t been the same since Sanctuary fell; for the hero community or otherwise. But, as with most things in life, the facility’s downfall can be viewed in either a positive or negative light; it just depends on your perspective of the situation. 

Perspective is an interesting concept when you think about it because it varies from person to person. The concept itself can never truly be right and it can never truly be wrong because it is simply the way we as people view life based on past experiences and the context of any given situation. This means that, if we take these statements as facts, the notions of good and evil don’t truly exist.

There is only perspective.

Take note, that that’s not to say  _ objectively _ good and evil don’t exist, because it does on a person by person basis. All it means is, that from a  _ non-objective _ standpoint, the two notions simply aren't plausible for the whole of society. Take, for example, the actions of one Wallace Rudolph West (Former alias Kid Flash, latest alias the third Flash) at Sanctuary.

West’s actions and personage can be viewed and judged in an infinite number of ways. Some may view him and what he’s done as evil because he killed his friends and faked a crime scene. Others may view him as a good person regardless of his actions because he was placed in an extremely high-stress situation in which he tried to protect those around him. He was just, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Then there are those that may view Wally as simply a victim of his surroundings, stating that the situation in its entirety was preventable (after all Sanctuary as it was alone would’ve never been approved by any mental health care specialist with half a brain cell). At the end of the day whether or not Wally is truly good or evil is entirely subjective. 

Similarly, it’s entirely subjective whether or not Roy Harper and his companions truly died at Sanctuary. After all, it’s wholly up to one's  **perspective** if a clone is a true representation of the person from which they were designed.

[TO BE CONTINUED]


	2. Enter Victor Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No. You don't get a chapter summary. Books don't have a chapter by chapter summary. You know why??? Because that is way more effort than any sane human being should ever be willing to put into anything ever. You got your overall summary already. If you want to know what happens next you read the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again. I am no wimp. Tell me if I fuck up with anything grammar wise. I promise you won't make me mad, I'd rather know than not know.  
> ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
> Once again this chapter was beta read by Here_Be_Hyperfixations. And once again no, I don't know how to link their stuff into this thing. I'm not that tech savvy. But if you're willing to actually put the effort forth, they do have some interesting fanfics that you can check out.

The last few months have been shitty, which is honestly pretty par for the course for him at this point. After all, one does not simply get embedded with the equivalent of a glorified alien supercomputer that also serves as a life support system/prosthetic/weapon, become a superhero, and not expect to deal with shitty things. But these last few months have been especially shitty. If he never has to go to an alien planet again, it would still be too soon. 

All Victor wanted to do when he got back to Earth after spending three hellish months away was sit down, eat copious amounts of junk food, watch MythBusters, and surf the Web. So imagine both his surprise and frustration, when his plans are suddenly waylaid by none other than Superman. 

For Christ’s sake, he hadn’t even made it outside of the Watchtowers debriefing room and he was already being flagged down by one of the ‘Big Three’. Nothing good ever comes of it when one of them needs to speak to you, especially when it’s Superman and he’s making _that_ face. You know, the one that looks like you just kicked his puppy and told him his Ma’s pie was an abomination to all other pies? That face.

Cyborg waited for the man by the door. Watching as he made his way through the throng of heroes and across the room's expanse, once by his side Victor addressed him curtly. “What can I do for you Big Blue?”

Clark winced at the name before glancing around the crowded room and quietly asking, “Do you think we could speak somewhere more private?”

The beginnings of dread began to pool in Victor’s stomach. The tone of Kent’s voice alone indicated that something very,  **very** bad had happened. Combine that with the aforementioned face that he was making and well… One could easily assume that shit must have hit the fan while he was away. 

Anticipating a long and extremely stressful conversation, Cyborg nodded his head minutely and indicated his hand towards the hallway. Superman silently followed his lead and they ended up in one of the empty, smaller meeting rooms on the west side of the facility.

“Soooo” Victor drawled as he turned to face the other man, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his weight against the conference table as he did so, “what happened?”

Superman, who up until this point had been walking around the facility as if he owned the place, closed the door, let his shoulders droop and his head drop. The supposed Man of Steel looked anything but. Exhaustion and resignation poured off of him in waves as he attempted to smooth his features into something neutral. But ultimately, he ended up looking sympathetic with a side of constipation. Eventually, he mustered up the courage to look up at the younger man before him, before saying in a careful, empty tone “There’s been an incident.”

“Yeah, I gathered that much,” Cyborg replied tersely, the barest hints of sarcasm lacing his voice. “Would you care to elaborate or are you just going to stand there all day looking pretty?”

Clark flinched at his words. So okay, maybe he was being a little harsh, but sue him. He does not like any of what is happening. The last time someone looked as constipated and hurt as Clark did now, somebody had died... 

Wait...

_ Wait a second… _

As soon as the thought crossed his mind his face darkened, he straightened abruptly, uncrossed his arms, and took two heavy steps forwards. “Kent,” he glowered, voice sharpening into something menacing and low. “What. The. Hell. Happened?” Each word enunciated by another step forward.

Kent straightened his posture, grasped his hands behind his back, and looked at the younger man before him dead on with a sort of resigned determination. His words dripped with an air of forced control and professionalism as he spoke, “Sanctuary has fallen. Roy, Lagoon Boy, Isaiah- they’re all dead.”

Stone stumbled back as if he’d been struck. He only stopped once his back legs hit the table, his sudden grief forcing him to collapse heavily upon the surface. Both of his hands gripped the structure's edge with a splintering force, impressive considering the table's design (after all, superpowered outbursts do happen during some of the more high-stressed meetings). He continued to grip the table as he glared at the floor and began to fully process the information he’d been given.

_ No _ … 

_ It can’t be… _

Roy… He had been trying so hard lately to get better, to be better and Cyborg was proud of him for it. Even if he didn’t always say it, he was. The man was tough as nails, but he had this problem where he would always put the wellbeing of others before himself even when it hurt him, even when it was slowly killing him. The last thing Victor heard of the man before he left Earth, was that he’d finally turned over a new leaf and was heading to Sanctuary to put himself first for a change.

Then there was Lagoon Boy. Yeah, the kid was a little weird, ate some strange stuff, and Victor will swear to his dying days that he once saw the kid inflate himself like a pufferfish to throw off two guys that had body-slammed him to the floor. But he was still a kid, a good one, who had seen far too much ugly that the world had to offer. Hell, the only reason the kid was even at Sanctuary was so that he could figure out a way to sleep better at night.

And finally, there was Isaiah…  _ God _ … Victor liked Isaiah, the kid reminded him of himself when he first started the hero gig. In over his head, scared, but always doing his best regardless because there were others out there that needed help. That needed him. When the two of them first  _ properly _ met, they got on like a house on fire (pun intended). They were like two peas in a pod, the best of friends. Hell, the entire time Cyborg had been gone he’d been looking forward to coming back and playing Smash Bros with him. But now he can’t, and  **goddamn it al** **l-**

_ But that little nerd didn’t deserve to die. _

**_ None of them deserved to die. _ **

Cyborg took several long moments to compose himself, doing his damndest to fight off the powerful waves of frustration, rage, and grief that threatened to crash through him and rip up what was left of his insides to shreds.

There was a time and a place for tears and now was not it. Right now, his utmost priority was to gather all the information available from the man before him and then ‘acquire’ the rest from the Watchtower’s database.

Superman respectfully looked off into the distance as he did so, patiently waiting for Stone to gather himself; after all, it was a lot to take in. Learning that your friends are dead is never an easy experience, no matter who you are.

Eventually Victor Stone pulled his gaze up from the floor, hands still gripping the table with a punishing force. He looked at Clark with a fire in his eyes and steel in his voice as he demanded, “Tell me everything.”

And so he did.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again this chapter was beta read by Here_Be_Hyperfixations. And once again no, I don't know how to link their stuff into this thing. I'm not that tech savvy. But if you're willing to actually put the effort forth, they do have some interesting fanfics that you can check out.


	3. The Plan™

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I suffered writing this chapter for you all. There were so many occasions that I wanted to chuck my laptop into the wall. But it's alright, I'm satisfied with it now. EVERYTHING IS FINE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god guys, I'm so sorry. I fought this chapter word for word every single step of the way. It did not want to work with me, I can't tell you how many times I screamed into the void writing this stupid thing. But here it is! Over 2,000 words long and still leaving you all on a cliff hanger. I worship my beta Here_Be_Hyperfixations, they sent me memes in my times of need and just generally made this chapter extra beautiful. Still don't know how to link them in this damn thing, but I highly recommend checking them out. They have content that will make you break down into tears, their stuff is that good.

After a 3 hour long hellish business meeting between Kord industries and Lex Corp, the only thing Ted Kord was expecting was a long boring walk home through Star Cities winding streets. He was not expecting to run into a robot.

Okay, so calling him a robot was probably derogatory or something. He’s like 85% sure that the proper term for the man is a cyborg, but his point still stands. 

Ted just simply was not expecting to have a 6 ‘6” wall of a humanoid being walk up from behind him and tap on his shoulder at 9’oclock at night. He just wasn’t. So really, it was the dude’s own fault that he got violently air blasted into the side of a McDonald’s dumpster.

However, regardless of blame, that did not stop the feeling of guilt from coiling in Kord’s stomach when he got over his initial panic and realized _who_ exactly he just blasted into a disgusting trash receptacle full of expired fast food and half-eaten Big Macs.

Kord’s face paled and he hissed out a curse. He hurriedly stashed his weapon back into his overcoat and made his way over to where Victor had become indented into the container.

To be fair, he highly doubted that he managed to hurt the guy. It was extremely difficult to do so considering what he was made of. But that didn’t change the fact that he just wrongfully blasted a man into a dumpster and it would be extremely rude not to check up on him after doing so. His momma raised him better than that.

Teddy awkwardly crouched in front of Victor, gaze unsure, and hands awkwardly splayed in a way that screamed he wanted to help but was at a complete loss on how to do so. He was just about to ask what to do when he made eye contact with the hero and was promptly silenced by a glare so intense it put Batman’s to shame.

Anxiety rose in Ted’s throat and he visibly gulped in an effort to quell it. Awkwardly, he swatted off a rotten banana peel that had taken residence upon the humanoid’s head. A desperate attempt to curb the man’s anger.

The glare only intensified, sending sharp, icy daggers into the deepest depths of Kord’s very soul. 

Let it be known that although Theodore Stephen Kord may be an intelligent man, he most certainly wasn’t a wise man. Perhaps this is why, instead of apologizing to the individual that could easily snap him in half, he did the exact opposite.

“Jeez Cy, didn’t you know that it’s rude to sneak up on fully trained superheroes? I mean come on man you-” He was abruptly silenced by a metal finger pressing against his lips, the universal sign of ‘shut your fucking mouth.’ It was coupled with a look that promised a violent and painful death if he so much as breathed two syllables in Stone’s direction.

He clamped his mouth firmly shut.

Once Cyborg had ensured his silence, he slowly removed his finger from the man’s lips and braced his hands against the sides of the metal container. A terse “Move,” was all the warning Ted got before the behemoth of a creature that was Victor Stone, wrenched himself out of the side of the receptacle with a loud metallic groan and pop.

Unfortunately for Teddy, the warning proved useless because he tripped over his own two feet before he was even fully standing. This resulted in a harsh landing, backside first, in a large, foul-smelling puddle. He quickly made to scramble his way out of the questionable liquid, but his plan was put on pause when Cyborg’s menacing figure loomed over him.

In a low and dangerous tone, Stone declared, “We need to talk about Sanctuary.”

‘Well fuck,’ Teddy thought 'this can’t be good.’

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Apparently when Victor said the words “ **We** need to **talk** about Sanctuary,” that ‘we’ included Michael Carter (aka Booster Gold), Teddy’s best friend. Oh, and apparently the ‘talk’ part actually meant having a conversation instead of a fistfight.

Which hey, he’s not complaining, he’s just surprised is all. The majority of the superhero community tended to view the Blue and Gold duo in a negative light, even though they’ve proven themselves a thousand times over. 

In Teddy’s extremely professional opinion, this is most likely because nearly every hero has a stick of self-righteousness shoved so far up their own ass that they can’t look past their own egos and moral codes to see the truth of the matter. The truth of the matter being that, despite their faults, he and Booster Gold make damn good heroes.

Though luckily enough for him and Booster, it turned out that Cyborg was actually a pretty chill dude. He was just a bit stressed and very pissed that SOMEONE (looking at you Batman) made the executive decision to keep him uninformed about key events while he was off-planet. All so he could “stay focused on the mission.” 

Now, don’t get him wrong, Batman’s logic for these types of situations is normally something that Teddy can agree with. However, Teddy, like many others, is under the firm belief that all parties should be informed as soon as physically possible when their loved ones die. Access to that type of information is their **right** as living, thinking, breathing, being and it should **never** be denied to them “for the sake of the mission.”

So yeah, Teddy could empathize with the guy; and after a brief call, it was discovered that Michael could too. So, they all agreed to meet up at one of Star Cities many questionable bars after Booster finished up the tail end of his mission. Fortunately for them, all Michael had left to do was the usual post-mission debrief and report.

This also had the added benefit of giving Ted just enough time to go home and clean himself of any remnants of the mystery puddle. He was definitely going to incinerate those clothes as soon as he got the chance. Nothing good has ever come from a mystery puddle.

They had all decided to meet up and talk shop at a sleazy dive bar called _Shack Drink_. Strictly because it was one of the few establishments within the city limits that wouldn’t question the presence of a giant, metallic, humanoid. 

And before anyone asks, the answer is no; he has no idea why the place is called _Shack Drink_. Frankly, he’s offended by the title's unoriginality.

Crap name aside, Ted took note of two things upon entering the building. One, the place had absolutely atrocious lighting, it was kind of pathetic really. Two, there is absolutely no way in hell that the place has ever legally passed a health inspection. Normally that would be concerning, but in this particular instance, it worked as an advantage.

Kord scouted for his companions and located Victor tucked away in the furthest, darkest corner of the bar on a barstool that barely supported his weight. He was wearing a massive grey sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and black leather gloves that just barely fit his metallic hands. His hulking figure was slouched over a glass tumbler full of some kind of amber liquid and his entire being radiated a type of distress that Teddy knew all too well.

It was going to be a long night.

Stone acknowledged Ted with a silent nod as he sat down next to the grieving man and joined in his mourning ritual. Ordering a jack and coke as he did so. They sat in respectful silence for a while, letting one other mourn in companionable silence. After all, they’ve all lost someone before.

There is always someone to mourn.

After a time, the silence was broken when one Michael Jon Carter walked up behind the two, slapped his hand on both their shoulders and in a manner in which only he was capable of, questioned, “So are we here to talk about the logistics of a murder investigation? Or are we here to get drunk and grieve dead people?”

Teddy snorted and Victor tilted his head and let out a small smile as he queried “Why not both?”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By the end of the night, everyone was completely and utterly wasted; especially Stone. Teddy was a bit surprised by this given the man’s physiology, but Victor drunkenly explained that toxins don’t work on him unless he wants them to, and he really really wanted to get drunk tonight. 

At this point in the night, all Teddy and Michael knew about Sanctuary’s fall had already been discussed. But now? Now they were honoring the memories of the dearly departed in the best way they knew how. Drunken storytime, gross crying, and just general stupidity.

“Then Lagoon Boy was like FWOOSH!” Cyborg gesticulated, swinging his arms wide in a movement akin to a balloon expanding. “Then the next thing,” he stumbled over his words “the next thing we knew the goons were like ‘Aghhhh!’ and then KRCHSSHHH!” 

He crashed his hands into one another, then mimicked some kind of explosion. “Stuff went everywhere, one guy ended up in the, up in the thing” he snapped his fingers in quick succession with a look of concentration on his face that quickly broke into glee as he shouted “RAFTERS! THE RAFTERS!”

Booster Gold and Blue Beetle hysterically giggled at his enthusiasm but were promptly ignored as Victor continued his story.

“And the other guys were stuck in some crates and when I looked over at Lagoon Boy he was all balloony.” Stone squished the air in front of him almost as if he could touch the inflated green child. 

“He was like,” a hiccup “was like a pufferfish or somethin’...” he trailed off for a bit, staring dazedly at his glass. 

“I’m gonna miss that funky little green guy.” Cyborg sincerely whispered as Michael and Teddy’s giggle’s steadily grew and transformed into rambunctious laughter.

They had just barely managed to get a grip of themselves when Victor abruptly broke his self-imposed silence by quickly standing from his stool and shouting “AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND?!” 

He swayed violently for a moment before firmly gripping the bar and harshly plopping back onto his stool with a heavy metallic _THUNK._

‘Man,’ he thought, ‘I should not have this many hands. I’m pretty sure that I’m only supposed to have two.’

Where’d the other ones come from?’ He thought numbly as Michael slurred “MaAnnnn, I don’t understand a lot of things.”

Teddy silently agreed with Booster's statement as he stared intensely at the half-empty salt shaker on the counter. Deeply wondering ‘What are goats and why do they crave that mineral?’ Will he ever truly know?

It was during Kord’s silent contemplation of goats and their salt inclinations that Cyborg quietly muttered the words that would change everything. “Hey Booster Seat” he started. “What I don’t get is why you didn’t just-” he made a vague one-handed gesture “just clone swap the others like you did Wally.”

The Blue and Gold duo briefly snapped into sobriety at Cyborg's question, surprise coloring their features. Stone didn't seem to notice nor care as he let his emotions silently boil over, tears streaming down his face as he quietly whispered “I miss my friends…” 

Kord ignored the man’s tears, and frantically yanked his phone free from his jeans pocket and desperately started typing something in the notes section. Fearful that if he didn’t jot his thoughts down right then, that they would disappear in a drunken haze forever. 

Meanwhile, Michael could only stare shocked into some kind of middle distance between himself and the shelves of liquor as he quietly murmured “I’m dumber than a firetruck in a rainstorm.” Before looking down and wretchedly vomiting all over his shoes.

Cyborg laughed hysterically at Carter, and the next thing Teddy knew he was waking up on the cold tiles of his bathroom floor. The only clues he had about last night’s happenings were a dead iPhone and a massive hangover pounding at his temples. However unbeknownst to him, that iPhone contained possibly one of the craziest and most brilliant rescue plans of all time. 

[TO BE CONTINUED]

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again this chapter was beta read by Here_Be_Hyperfixations and they are a GIFT FROM THE UNIVERSE.


	4. Is This Allowed Time Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I fear each chapter I write because they're progressively getting longer. This chapter alone is over 3,000 words and it's only going to get longer from here folks. Please have patience with me, I'm doing my best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always this chapter was beta read by Here_Be_Hyperfixations, they're amazing and you should really go check them out. Also I'm sorry this took so long to post, but stuff has been pretty hectic between the holidays, the election, and just general family stuff. But hey, here's Chapter 4 I hope you enjoy it!  
> Oh, and there will be some more notes at the bottom for those interested.

Michael felt like absolute garbage and smelled like it too. God, why did he ever think drinking was a good idea? Every time he drinks he thinks, ‘Oh this won’t be so bad. I can hold my liquor. I’ll be fineeee.’ And every single time he’s just so hopelessly  **wrong.**

None of him feels like it should. His head is pounding, his vision is swimming, his mouth feels like the Sahara Desert tried to take residence in it, and he feels like he’s going to puke…

_ FUCK HE FEELS LIKE HE’S GOING TO PUKE! _

Carter stumbled off what he assumes is Teddy’s couch and immediately slammed his foot into the coffee table. Thankfully it was the foot that still had the shoe on it. However, this was a thought he didn’t even have time to begin to process because he was frantically floundering his way down the hallway towards what he hoped was the restroom. He may or may not have shoulder checked himself into a wall in the process. 

Luckily, the room he was aiming for was indeed the restroom. The only reason he knew this was because when he threw the door open he briefly lost his balance, which caused him to stumble, which in turn caused him to trip over a pair of legs in front of the bathroom sink, which ultimately caused him to go careening dangerously downwards towards the toilet. 

By some miracle he just barely managed to catch his hands on the rim of the toilet, avoiding a positively painful and embarrassing death. The next thing he knows he’s spending the next 15 minutes upchucking what little is left of his stomach’s contents into a shining porcelain bowl. Even when his stomach eventually empties it doesn’t seem to get the message, so he spends the next 10 minutes horrendously dry heaving.

Throughout the entire process, his only thought is ‘Has God finally forsaken me? Or have I forsaken God?’ 

Once his stomach managed to finally catch up with the rest of him, his body decided that now was time to become a puddle; so he exhaustedly slumped his way onto the tiled flooring. 

Unfortunately, his head was still trying to imitate the drum portion from [The Beatles’ song Helter Skelter](https://youtu.be/7csHqpcCiFQ) and soon enough he found himself curled around the base of the toilet. The cold porcelain did wonders for his oncoming migraine but did little else for the rest of him.

He let out a low groan as he began to shiver.

Silence reigned supreme for a single blissful moment. But unfortunately it was shattered by Teddy’s voice revoltedly uttering “That was disgusting ” followed by the sound of rustling fabric and the toilet being flushed.

All Michael could manage was a humm of agreement as he discreetly filed away the owner of the pair of mystery legs into the back of his throbbing skull. Based on the way things were going so far, he easily concluded that today was going to suck ass. Considering Teddy hadn’t even bothered to get up during the whole ordeal he knew the man felt the same.

Michael was seriously considering the advantages and disadvantages of conking out right there on the bathroom floor when he smelled it. Somehow, someway, the glorious scent of coffee had permeated its way through the sharp acrid scent of vomit blanketing the restroom. Which didn’t make a lick of sense because both he and Teddy were still in the bathroom.

“Ted… ” Carter rasped, throat aching from the strenuous task of vomiting and the burning sting the stomach acid left in his esophagus. There was no response.

“Kord.” Michael tried again, voice stronger but just barely. When he still didn’t get a response he wrenched his sleep crusted eyelids open and forcefully lifted his head off the ground to squint in his friend's general direction.

Apparently, Ted had fallen asleep slumped against the wooden cabinet underneath the sink sometime after he flushed the toilet. If his soft, open mouth snores were any indication, his friend was completely out of it and wouldn’t be waking up for a while.

Begrudgingly, he painfully climbed his way into a sitting position, using the toilet seat as leverage. His stomach clearly did not enjoy this endeavor as it threatened a repeat of recent events, but it settled once he made it to a sitting position. It was a strenuous process and he had to take a moment to collect himself.

After he caught his breath, Michael braced his left hand on the toilet seat, pulled his shoeless foot back, slammed it into Kord’s left upper thigh, and shouted “Teddy!” As loud as his throat would allow.

The reaction he received was equal parts instantaneous and hilarious. Carter watched with exasperated amusement as his best friend awoke with a violent jerk forward, yelled “I’M AWAKE!” Then promptly fell back against the cabinet so harshly that it caused the entire structure to shake. 

The tremors caused a phone that was balancing precariously on the cabinet’s ledge to be jostled from its position. Gravity forced the device downwards and it bounced heavily on Teddy’s head before landing screen side down in the befuddled man’s lap.

Poor Teddy was so out of it he didn’t even blink, just slowly dragged his gaze down to his lap and tiredly mumbled “Huh, so that’s where my phone went.”

Michael couldn’t help it, he snorted then winced when the action exacerbated the building pressure in his head. ‘God,’ he thought ‘I’m going to need to take something before this soon.’ 

Pushing through the pain he carefully leaned over and smiled fondly at the man as he patted his knee twice before saying “Yep buddy, that’s where your phone went.” 

Ted only hummed noncommittally in response as he continued to stare at his phone blankly while Carter dragged himself off the floor.

Once he successfully scraped himself off the tile, he shuffled the few steps over to his friend and offered his hand out to the exhausted man to help pull him from the floor. Teddy accepted with a defeated sigh and Michael yanked him off the ground with a low grunt of effort. Once both men’s feet were securely on the ground, Michael spoke.

“So Tedster, would you mind getting that big brain of yours together and telling me who’s cooking up a storm in your kitchen?”

At some point during their interaction, the faint and heavenly aroma of bacon had mixed with the coffee’s and was steadily overpowering the less savory scents of the bathroom. If he strained his ears he could even hear a faint sizzling and the unmistakable clatter of pot, pans, and various utensils shifting around.

Exhaustion must have been making the man slow on the uptake because Ted furrowed his eyebrows as he muttered a confused “Cooking?” However, after a moment of deliberation, his expression morphed into one of realization as he exclaimed “Ohhhh! It must be Victor. I’m pretty sure that he’s the one that brought us home last night.”

Michael groaned at Teddy’s words. Between waking up on the couch, hurtling his guts into the toilet bowl, and hoping that God would smite him, he had completely forgotten about the kid. 

_ Fuck. _ Victor had come to them for help, but instead of receiving any, he ended up giving it by taking care of their drunk asses. ‘Shit.” Michael thought, ‘time to do damage control.

“Okay. Damn. Shit. Alright.” He leaned his weight against the sink counter and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefingers. 

“Alright man so here’s what we’re gonna do, I’m gonna steal some of your clothes and hop in the shower because I smell worse than you do. You-” he gestured a hand in his friend's direction “are gonna go out there and check up on the kid because it’s your house, you’re the host, and out of the two of us, you’re better at emotions. Sound fair?”

Ted grimaced at the grim reminder of precisely why they were in this situation before responding “Sounds fair.” Teddy then made his way over to the medicine cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Advil, swallowed two capsules dry, and then passed the bottle over to Michael who had begun gulping down small handfuls of water from the sink. 

When his thirst was briefly satiated, he mimicked Teddy’s actions, handed the bottle back, and then both men went about to complete their self-assigned tasks.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After Michael finished washing up, he slowly made his way towards the kitchen where he was met with the sight of Victor and Teddy slowly munching on a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast while making minimal small talk. He quietly informed his friend that the shower was ready for him if he wanted it, then made a beeline for the half-empty coffee pot on the counter. By the time he’d poured himself a mug of the life-saving sustenance and made a plate of food, Ted was gone.

Once he settled at the table with his food, the two sat in companionable silence; favoring their food and beverages over any meaningless small talk. His head still hurt, even with the Advil he had taken earlier taking off the edge of it, so he hadn’t really felt like talking just yet. Thankfully, Victor didn’t seem to mind and the kid looked more than content to just polish off the plate of eggs sitting in front of him.

Michael had nearly finished his food and Victor had just gotten a second plate when the two snapped up their heads at the sound of a small crash emanating from the restroom. The crash was then followed by a quick succession of heavy footsteps pounding their way down the hall and a loud and frantic “BOOSTER!”

Before Michael even had the chance to stand, Teddy was in his face and violently shoving a phone at his nose. 

The man clearly hadn’t finished his morning routine before storming his way out of the restroom. His hair was a mess of damp brown curls sticking to his forehead, his mouth still had the remnants of toothpaste clinging to it, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt which was a big red flag in Michael’s book (his friend had a few body image issues, but they were working on it). 

But what really grabbed his attention was Teddy’s hysterical shouts of “Michael, Mikey, Mike, Mikster. Is this allowed? Are we allowed to do this? IS THIS ALLOWED TIME MAN!?!” 

On the other side of the table, Victor had pulled up a holographic screen on his wrist, and whatever its contents showed him had him frozen in his seat with widened eyes.

Suffice it to say that the “Mikster” was a little more than flustered and definitely starting to panic a bit. Michael desperately needed to find a way to diffuse the situation and fast, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He screamed louder than Teddy.

“TEDDY CALM DOWN I CAN’T SEE THE SCREEN!”

Luckily this tactic worked and all at once the shirtless man’s frantic cries ceased. Ted’s cheeks dusted in a light shade of pink as he seemed to remember himself, his state of undress, and present company.

The man jerked his arm back violently, slammed his phone face down on the table, muttered a quick “Read it.” Then quickly made his way out of the room, presumably to find a shirt and reclaim some semblance of dignity.

Befuddled, Michael took a moment to collect himself, before he cautiously picked up the phone and began to drain the last dregs of his coffee while he deciphered the information on the screen before him.

He should’ve finished the coffee first because what he read had the liquid making a return trip out through his nose as he was thrown into a violent choking fit.

On the device before him was a clearly drunkenly written but detailed plan on how to  _ rescue  _ the heroes lost at Sanctuary. The plan was insane, nuts even, but there was something about it and the timing of it all that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was only when he looked at the day’s date that  **it** hit him.

As a time traveler, Booster has always had a bit of difficulty with keeping up with precisely when he was in time. Yeah, he knew roughly what decade and season he was in most of the time (pun unintended), but all the exact dates tended to blur together after a while. If he really needed to know when he was, he’d just check his suit or ask Skeets. It’s the only reason he could think of why he didn’t notice  **it** before.

**It** being the fact that, if he was remembering things properly, the current year didn’t align with Roy Harper’s memorial at the future’s  _ Museum of Heroes and Legends  _ **at all** . It was supposed to happen  **_much_ ** later down the line. Which was insane because last he checked Roy was dead already, he would know he was  **there** .

But that just didn’t make sense because nearly every single major hero or villain's death was a fixed point in time, you couldn’t change that. But if the memorial at the museum was correct then that could only mean one of two things. 

One, Roy Harper is destined to be revived by some weird superhero bullshit later down the line. Weirder shit has happened and it’s not entirely outside of the realm of possibility because it has happened to other heroes before.

Or two, Teddy’s plan (or some variation of it) is a fixed point in time and it’s essentially destined to happen.

And if Michael was being completely honest with himself, he’s leaning towards option two because if option one was indeed the case then the memorial at the museum would’ve listed both of Roy’s deaths. As morbid as it sounds, a lot of people actually enjoy learning about that sort of thing. 

Okay. Fuck. Alright he needed to cross-reference the other Sanctuary heroes' current supposed death dates with those of the futures  **yesterday.** Because if he was right, and this plan was a fixed point in time, then there was a definite chance that they could save those who had so wrongfully fallen at Sanctuary.

All of these thoughts flashed through his mind so quickly, that as soon as he recovered from his impromptu coffee expulsion, he was up on his feet, activating his suit, and screaming out for his robotic companion at the top of his lungs. 

Teddy, who was now standing fully clothed just outside the kitchen doorway, grabbed Michael’s hand briefly halting the man in his tracks. Ted looked him dead in the eyes, gaze clear and focused (a complete contrast to how he looked last night), as he sincerely asked “Mike, are we seriously allowed to do this?”

The time traveler spared a glance over to Victor who was now fully standing from his seat and was glaring intently at the two. Almost as if he knew exactly what they were talking about. Given the man’s connection to data and technology, he probably did (it wouldn’t be difficult for him to access Teddy’s phone).

Michael closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before looking at his friend and the kid in the eye and saying “I don’t know for sure. But I promise you both I  **_will_ ** find out. And if, IF by some miracle this plan of yours Teddy is allowed, then I’m going to need some help.”

His two companions nodded and as soon as Ted let go of his hand, he was out of the door and flying towards SKEET’s latest coordinates.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It took him a week to get back to the two, even with his capabilities. This was mainly because he had to personally check and sample each corpse found at Sanctuary without alerting any of the other heroes in the community.

Which, yeah… 

That wasn’t a pleasant experience… 

But he needed to confirm if the bodies were clone duplicates or not before he got anybody's hopes up. Unfortunately, the only way to do that was with samples.

God, he hoped that Teddy’s plan was a fixed point in time because he would hate to do all of this only to learn that he needlessly defiled multiple corpses. 

For those wondering why he didn’t just do all of this and then time travel back to when he left Teddy and Victor, well the answer is simple. Time travel is much less complicated without the possibility of running into doubles of yourself (which would’ve been a possibility if he traveled back to the day he left). So he tries to avoid that as much as physically possible, sometimes it's inevitable though.

Once he collected the necessary samples and data, he traveled forward to his time in the future and began compiling and cross-referencing information. Thankfully his findings revealed that he did not, in fact, needlessly defile corpses. Which is always a win in his book.

Oh yeah, and Teddy’s plan is viable.

But honestly, right now he’s more relieved about the first thing. He’ll be excited about the other thing later when he shares the news with his companions.

When he made it back to Teddy’s time, he had the man summon Victor Stone again and they all met up at one of Ted’s safe houses that also doubled as a lab. It’s here in the living area that they discussed Michael’s findings and their ideas for the plan moving forward.

“Soooooo,” Victor drawled after hours of non-stop deliberation “just to confirm. We’re gonna swap out everyone with mindless clone doubles and then pull an Avenger’s Endgame by bringing them to our present?”

“Yeah basically,” Ted responded.

“Huh.” The younger man seemed to consider something for a moment but soon declared “Alrighty then. What are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started!” 

Michael let out a small huff of laughter from where he was sitting on the couch, before grasping his head with his hand and breathlessly whispering to himself “Holy shit. We’re actually going to do this.”

If he was being honest, he couldn’t wait to get started. Although he may not show it much, what happened at Sanctuary was actually really hard on him. He went to a facility that was supposed to be safe, that was supposed to help him and other heroes like him, and on the very first day of his stay literally,  **everyone died** . 

That in itself was horrible enough on its own, but then there was the fact that he didn’t  **know** for a while whether or not he killed all of those people, and that  **scared** him. For a bit there he thought he was going insane and if it weren’t for Teddy pulling him out of the metaphorical fire… Well… Things may not have happened the way that they did.

He still has nightmares about it all.

But now, with this crazy-ass rescue plan, he can go back and he can help those people. He can save them. 

It won’t stop the nightmares, he knows that. Certain things will stick with you no matter what you do. However, he also knows that by doing this it will help grant him a peace of mind that he hasn’t had in a  **while** .

So yeah, let’s get this party started.

  
  


[TO BE CONTINUED]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks a few things.  
> 1\. It is cannon, at least in the older comics, that Ted Kord/Blue Beetle had some body image issues for a while. There was a time that he gained a bit of weight and he wasn't happy about it, so Michael Carter/Booster Gold helped him out a bit.  
> 2\. Ted Kord is actually extremely smart so please keep that in mind. The man built his own suit and weaponry and also runs a fairly successful company.  
> 3\. The reason Michael keeps referring to Victor Stone as kid, is because Victor younger than him. If I'm remembering properly, in the DC Rebirth comics, Victor is in his early 20s.  
> 4\. I do not science well. I know the basics of certain topics. I know that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. I know that one of the reasons plant cells have a cell wall is so it can help regulate water transfer during osmosis, therefore lessening the chance that they absorb so much water that they explode. However, I do not even try to begin to understand the complexity that is time travel, so I just used the random bull crap that I picked up from watching Doctor Who and Avengers Endgame and shoved it in here. It is probably not even remotely scientifically accurate, but neither is half the crap that DC publishes. So just roll with it alright? Alright.

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: This chapter was beta read by Here_Be_Hyperfixations   
> I don't know how to link to their stuff so you'll just have to look them up for yourself. 10/10 would recommend doing that btw, they have some interesting stuff.


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